The POV

Point of View; everyone has one!  I find it truly interesting to listen to points of view that aren't mine!  An idea that has always kept my attention is that of the Human Library.  Human Library is a non-profit organization that hosts events where one can "check out", or "borrow" a person for a conversation rather than a book.  Their aim is to challenge prejudices and stereotypes through conversation.  People volunteer to share their personal experiences and perspectives on a topic.  They are the "human books".  People can ask them questions and engage in an open dialogue.

This seems like it could be a productive way to learn and grow.   It reminds me of the old idiom: walk a mile in someone else's shoes.  I try to tune into Pod casters, shows, or even books that I might not agree with.  I have a desire to understand where others are coming from.  I also really dislike the way we are always divided.  There is so much division among the people in my country.  I flat out detest it! We can disagree, and still be neighbors, friends, coworkers, and allies if we want to be.  

I don't really like people.  I'd rather be around animals; stuffed ones, real ones it doesn't matter!  I mean, I do like people.  I'd never wish anyone ill will, but I really don't like being disappointed in people.  Sometimes it's just easier to keep my distance, so I don't have to be disappointed.  I do like to understand people disappointment aside.  I have recently rediscovered the value in empathy, and what it means to really put yourself in someone else's position.  There is value in seeing things from where someone else stands.  

I don't really like conversing with people on Facebook or other social media platforms. It's far too easy to either be misunderstood, or to misunderstand.  Something that happens often is a hyper focus on certain words or phrases that act as a trigger for some people.  Before you know it, you've said all sorts of things you really didn't say!  It's kind of a funny thing, and a real phenomenon.  It goes beyond mere misunderstanding, and enters new territory.  It's like the scene in Aladdin where Iago is shoving crackers down the Sultan's throat; "Polly want a cracker?"  Suddenly, words you didn't even use are being put in your mouth!

Whenever this happens on social media or elsewhere, people tell me these interactions are a waste of time.  Well, maybe, but I don't always see it that way.  I find it as an opportunity to practice getting better at expressing myself.  How can I communicate in a way where I won't get misunderstood?  How can I better express my desire to understand what someone else is saying?  For awhile, I've listened to people on the radio, YouTube, and other social media outlets that have various points of view on a wide variety of things.  My reason for doing this, is to understand what it is that I believe, and what I don't.  I will say that I've changed my mind about some things, I've learned a lot of new things, and I know better where exactly my logic lies.  I think this exercise has made it easier for me to think for myself, and to think more logically before reacting.  

When listening to someone about a certain topic, I ask myself, "Do I agree with what they are saying? Why or why not? Do I need more information? Do I need to think on this before I decide?" I've come to find that I don't agree 100% with anyone I've ever listened to!  I've discovered that this is actually a good thing.  If you do happen to agree with someone 100%, then maybe you need to see a different point of view, or maybe you need to think on it more thoroughly......let yourself hear your own thoughts.  I think the most important thing to note is that usually people are more than their words posted on social media, and more than what they say in a show.  Usually.  I will also say that it would be wise to believe people when they tell you who they are.

I think I've noticed for quite some time the toxicity that is bred on social media, and I can't say that I've never contributed to it.  Unfortunately, I've learned that words can have more power than intended, and they can hurt others.  I've learned the hard way that it's wise to think extra hard before saying anything about anything on social media.  I guess it depends on what the subject matter is.  Not everything is so serious.  It's this reason that I've worked toward have meaningful discussion and conversation on these outlets.  Keeping in mind that there never has to be hate, or insulting just because I disagree with someone.   Years ago, I might have thought differently regarding certain topics.  Politics being one of them.  Super hero movies would not be one of them, but oh my goodness, is that a hot topic sweltering with hatred!  I'll tell you more about that soon. 

Looking back on my childhood, I never remember knowing the political views of my teachers, my neighbors, or my friends' parents.  Everyone seemed to get along just fine despite such things.  People just did not know everything about what you thought all of the time.  Back in my day, kids were just allowed to play, and be kids.  We didn't think about racism, or worry if we were offending our Native American neighbors if we braided our hair like they did.  I'm guessing they weren't offended because we remained friends. There was no such thing as "Cultural Appropriation."  Of course we learned about racism at school by studying history, and I don't remember seeing much of that growing up.  That's not to say it didn't exist, but I think my town was mostly pretty peaceful.  

Recently, a neighbor and friend became extremely offended by the idea of my daughter wanting corn rows in her hair.  This neighbor is not black, but felt it was so offensive to black culture that she thought she would tell my 10 year old daughter that if she went to public school she would get "jumped" upon showing up with corn rows.  Her teenage daughter followed up by saying "I would jump you if I saw you with corn rows"!  Yes, because my neighbor knows that we home school our kids, she thought it entirely appropriate to educate my 10 year old on cultural appropriation. Not only that, but they essentially threatened violence against my daughter over a hairdo. This would be the equivalent of me teaching my religion, and forcing her son to have scripture study with us.   I've never done that, nor would I ever dare do that because I know that is over stepping.  It's completely, and totally inappropriate.  

When my husband confronted our neighbor about this she said she would come over and apologize to my daughter, but she never did.  She only apologized over text acknowledging that she overstepped, and that it wasn't her place to talk about that with my daughter..............but it didn't end there.  She doubled down on her belief, and instead of using my daughters name, she referred to her as "that kid".  "If that kid shows up at my door with corn rows she will be sent home!"  All while this is happening, my daughter is hiding in her closet crying, and overcome with anger.  My daughter doesn't understand why, or what she seemingly did wrong.  Nothing.  She did nothing wrong.  She simply wanted corn rows for the mere fact that she likes them, and thinks they look cool.  My husband continued to test this person's logic by pushing the logic itself to a never ending end.  She tried to back out by defining what's acceptable to appreciate vs. what's appropriate.  Okay, so what is appropriate?  And who says my daughter wasn't desiring it out of appreciation?

 To make this even more interesting I did a little research.  One of my favorite things to do!  The french braid is not french at all, but has roots going as far back as 6000 years.  Surprise, surprise!  It's not just from North Africa, and the exact time and origin is still up for debate.  These braids have shown up in China, Greece, Rome, and Scandinavia (Vikings), as well as North Africa.  So, who do they belong to?  Not sure!  It's debatable!  If we are going to play this game, then I will mention that I have Viking heritage, so I guess we are good!  So often, this seems to be the case. When someone cries "cultural appropriation" it's either admiration for, learning of, and enjoyment of another culture that is mistaken for the appropriation.  Now if you're making fun of the culture, and there's malice behind it, then yes, that would be inappropriate.  This is what I told my daughter.  

"Emulation is the highest form of admiration".   A very human thing to do is to learn about other people and cultures and we kind of want to know what it's like to be them.  It's a human trait to put ourselves in someone else's shoes.  Most of us do know what empathy is, and most of us are aware of the trials of different cultures.  Maybe not all, but I think most people are willing to listen and learn.  It's a very human thing to want to know on some level what it's like to be different than we are, or to ponder on having a different experience in this life.  Putting ourselves into each others' shoes is kind of what we do.  

Take kids for example, sometimes girls and boys, when they're young want to know what it's like to be the opposite gender.  This plays out in an innocent manner where girls will mimic boys, and play with cars, or dress like boys.  Boys will maybe play with dolls, or experiment with the color pink, or even play in a dress once or twice.  This is normal childhood behavior.  They are curious about the differences, and some part of them wants to just see what it's like.  Both of my kids have done this for quite a few years, and because I let them I think they are better for it.  They seem to be discovering who they are at a younger age, and starting to accept it.  Better for this to happen when they are young kids than suppress it only to have them want to experiment when they are teenagers.  Teenagers are subject to so much more outside influence than children are.  When this takes place during teenage years it might lead to irreversible damage.  This philosophy is not entirely  my own, but many psychologists will tell you this.  I've read books on the subject, and I know I've mentioned them in the past.  If I had a dollar for every time someone assumed I was some uber progressive raising my daughter as a boy; I might not be rich, but I would have a lot more gas money!

Back to Cultural Appropriation!  I see this as modern day segregation! We are telling cultures what they "own" and figuratively putting them in a box and saying, "stay! You're not allowed to go out.......and no one is allowed in your box!" Unless you are white.  Anyone can come into the "white" box.  You can culturally appropriate anything that is white......because white people don't have culture, so I've heard.  Some would say Americans don't have culture.  I'm not really sure what they mean by that.  Americans definitely have culture!  Each state has its own culture.  I was recently reminded of my American culture by two British men who love America, and visit frequently.  More about that in a moment!

Right now in America it's not enough to NOT be racist, but we must be anti-racist!  What is Anti-racist? It goes so far that it ends up being reverse racism.  We can't just be NOT racist, we have to never offend any culture, or ethnic group.  Many would say that white people don't have a culture.  If you are white, then you have privilege, and you must push yourself down because you are oppressing people.  You must feel some guilt for being white.  

Can I ask, what is white? I know that sounds silly, but really what's white, and white culture? I'm confused, I'm serious, I really am!  Every white person in America probably came from somewhere in Europe.  I'm from a lot of places in Europe.  Are the Irish white?  I'm Irish.  The Irish were enslaved many times in history by other white people.  The Irish were not treated very well when they came to America.  They were discriminated against!  Are Portuguese white?  Are Italians white?  What about Greeks, or French????? How are we defining white?  Skin color? Culture? Or is it just White people in America?

Like I mentioned before, I know of the toxicity online, but I had to experience this for myself.  I conducted a little experiment.  One group of people I've recently been following are the comic book Fandom!  There's a new Superman movie coming out this summer.   There have recently been test screenings, cinema con, and new trailers.  If there's one place full of love and passion it's this group!  They are extremely polarizing and divided!  Yes, the most toxic kind of love and passion!  This truly was an unforgettable experience!  Even life changing!  

If I was going to be part of this conversation I knew I'd have to decide what my preferences were among the Superman Fandom.  Now I started my research around Christmas time, and I wrote about this already.  I had to have a stance of some kind when it came to this new movie.  I've probably listened to over 100 hours of opinions about this movie, past movies, comics, and James Gunn.  I've discovered that there is no room for disagreement on either side of the aisle, or any aisle for that matter.  It might actually be more polarizing than politics. 

I've enjoyed pretty much all versions of Superman, but I'm not a James Gunn fan.  Opinions from test screenings were found to be very mixed after leaks came out.  Supposedly, re shoots are happening now.  Some opinions are that this will be just like Guardians of the Galaxy, but in a Superman movie.  Some say it has the classic James Gunn humor that he's known for, making this movie not serious, but a comedy.  Some said the movie was good, but not great.  Some are concerned that Lois Lane will be the real hero, as it was leaked that she will stop Superman from killing the villain.  Some said that there's not really a clear plot..........

Okay, so the story telling is something I've really been concerned with the past 10 years in movies and shows.  I care about good stories!  It is my worry that this movie will suffer the same lazy writing that we've all seen in the last little while!  This movie was written in 2024, and very evidently so.  They totally wrote a Superman that's not gonna be the true hero, he's gonna be saved by the girl boss.  He's not gonna be dreaming about saving the world, but hoping his dog will save him after he further beats the crap out of him.  He's gonna save the world with kindness, and he's gonna hope he can be fearless, fair, brave, and true like his father always knew he could be!  If he finds true love along the way is anybody's guess, but his scenes could get cut........it's Hollywood baby!

Okay, okay I'll stop!  I was just having a bit of fun.  If you didn't get that go find the interview that got Rachel Zegler in hot water!  I can't lie though, there might be more truth to that than anyone wants to admit.  I hope this movie will be good though!  I do hope I'm wrong!  I have repeatedly expressed this sentiment along with my criticism for it in many comments online.

I dropped some very brief comments on some pro James Gunn posts on Facebook.  One post said "James Gunn knows Superman"!  I replied "James Gunn knows James Gunn".  Okay not too rude, or insulting; just an opinion.  It got a few laughs, and I got one commenter.  In the end this one commenter thought I was funny when I replied to him 5 times acting like a triggered Karen! I praised him for being smarter than me because he was a Gunn fan.  I was being completely sarcastic, and really acting crazy!  I did this just to to see if he'd leave the conversation, or if he'd get my humor!  He did, and we had a laugh!

There was another post I left a comment explaining why I didn't think I would like this movie, and one person of course insulted me by being concerned with the way I spelled the word weird.  That's right, he had nothing else to say, didn't want to have a positive interaction, but had to take the time to insult my intelligence because of a typo!  I mentioned that usually people come prepared to argue about dumb stuff, and I expressed disappointment that he wasn't prepared to even argue dumb stuff, only to throw out baseless insults!

Another post was talking about how brilliant this movie was going to be, and that it would be the best Superman movie ever!  I'll explain why I start praising these fans, telling them how wonderful they all are, and saying how this movie will save the world in July!  James Gunn can't keep quiet, he's constantly talking about this movie, and how he's making it comic book accurate.  Except for Krypto the dog; no the dog is modeled after his own dog.  He talks about this movie like it's going to take all the grown men back to their childhood nostalgia when they read comic books!  He talks like this movie is going to save the world from all the other versions that were so bad!  No one has done Superman right, no one!  James Gunn will though; you can bet on it!  He's absolutely insufferable, just like the Rachel Zegler interview!  His fans can be insufferable at times as well.  Don't worry; NO ONE WILL EVER FORGET WHO IS MAKING THIS MOVIE!  THE BEST SUPERMAN IN HISTORY!

The marketing for this movie has been really strange.  They had hired the marketing team from the Barbie movie, but then they fired them????  That's crazy to me!  The marketing team for Barbie was the most brilliant campaign I've ever seen!  In my opinion, one big reason Barbie was a billion dollar movie was the marketing!  The marketing for Superman has been all James Gunn, and it's all been on social media.  This movie is set to release in theaters in July, and I have yet to see any major promotions, or previews at other movies.  Except for the puppy bowl, yeah James Gunn went to the puppy bowl back in February, but that was hardly a promotion.  I was seeing previews for Barbie almost a year ahead of it's release.  The promotional photos that have been released for Superman are very unflattering, and I'm wondering who is in charge of the photos.  A lot of people don't even know this movie is coming; hardly anyone knows about it!  I just saw the first preview at the movies when I went to see King of Kings.

Anyway this last post I left a little trigger word.  I used the word "woke".  I basically said I'd had my fill of woke trash with the snow white movie, and I didn't want to see another one.  Yes, I used this phrasing on purpose.  The truth is, I don't like the word "woke" and I'd rather use specific examples, or even the term "politically correct" (PC).  The term woke has had its definition modified, and it means different things to different people.  

This comment got a ton of attention!  More than I thought it would!  I thought people would just write me off as not worth talking to, but no, it was different.  Of course the first question was "how is this movie woke?" Followed by the question of how do I know this?  The movie has not come out yet, true, I'm assuming, haha!  I responded to him using a statistical argument that it's more likely to be woke than not just based on recent trends in movies.  I also told him some things that came out of test screenings that lead me to believe this movie was being injected with a strong feminist message.  He asked if my sources were reputable, and I asked what's reputable?  Eventually this person left the conversation.  

I explained a few times the way I was using the term woke, and what I meant by it.  Some were satisfied with my answer, and left the conversation.  Some were infuriated, and felt the need to correct me.  They even were so nice as to leave me links to the Webster's dictionary definition of the word.  I again explained that the original definition was not what I was going by, and that it has indeed changed.  I further explained how this word was interpreted by a significant portion of the population, and that's how I was using it!  

Here's is how I was using the term woke: woke is the idea of injecting progressive, or new, ideologies into media, all media, even the news in order to indoctrinate, coerce, or force the acceptance of the ideology. Whether people like it or not, this is what "woke" means to at least half of the American population.  I even gave examples of other terms that have had their definitions changed, or modified such as the words liberal, conservative, driving, and marriage. I pointed out that all sides of politics do this.  I'm not sure it's a political thing as much as it is just a human thing as definition modification can be driven by different agendas, or purposes.  It is the belief of many that when this injection of ideology happens to entertainment like movies, the story telling art suffers.  It suffers because there is no real story, plot, or reason for that ideology to be there, or exist in the story; it's just there, and it leaves many wondering, why, or how? It really takes away from the art of the story.

More people kept coming and asking me the same questions over, and over again!  I asked them politely to read my previous explanations, but of course they would not.  I was accused of being so many things.  I was surprised at the number of people who simply did not want to read.  I was never trying to be contentious, or argumentative.  I never insulted anyone, or called anyone a name.  I also never assumed anything about anyone beyond being a James Gunn fan, and not reading my previous explanations.  I made a point to point out that they were very gifted insulters if they were insulting me. I did say things to mock the toxicity of the conversation.  Not a direct insult to any one person just insulting the arguments.  

When the insults got crazy, I got a little crazy!  I continually praised their intelligence, letting them know that I knew how much smarter they were than me! I told them I was looking forward to the earth being saved by this movie, and this Fandom in July.  I was feeling so loved by all the toxicity, and attention they were giving me.  I started to play like I was slipping in and out of my reality, and theirs.  Eventually, I gave them what they wanted!  I did indeed convert to their side, and told them that they had successfully re indoctrinated me to their ideology! I thanked them over and over for reminding me about my prejudices, and making me see what an awful person I was!  Okay, yes I was poking fun at the ridiculous nature of the argument, and I was throwing in some truth about my reality.  All at the same time I was pleading for them to save me from my reality because I'd rather live in their reality with blissful delusion.  Again, making fun of the conversation itself.   I suppose this was my way of putting myself in their shoes!

So, before I turned into DEFCON KAREN, that's what I call her, what insults did I get? It was truly an experience I won't forget.  Part of playing two personalities here was to see if I could pull any of them out of their extreme seriousness, and just make them laugh!  Most of this bunch didn't laugh much.  When someone suggested I put down the crack pipe, haha, I said I didn't do drugs, but thanked him for his concern, and said how nice he was!  When someone said my comments would be even funnier if I was a Zack Snyder fan, I said "don't be silly, I know better than to enjoy the WRONG version of Superman!"  Truth is, I've been a fan of all versions, haha!  

Multiple times I said how they were all so much smarter than me!  I thanked them for making me see the light, and helping me correct the error of my ways!  When someone wished me luck living with my BS I told him that I no longer had to live with that BS anymore because all of these amazing, upstanding, gentlemen were saving me from myself!  Haha!  I kept wondering why they were still so mad at me!  I was one of them now, haha!  How come they didn't see it?  

One guy said that as soon as I used the word woke I un-ironically made myself someone not worth talking to, and I was a waste of time.  I pointed out that a lot of people were talking to me wasting their time, and I was trying to prove that this conversation was indeed a waste of time.  Then, I asked him why he was still talking to me?  He was one who I asked to read previous comments, but he said he wouldn't, and started calling me names.  He even called me a "d!(!{", such a naughty word! When I wrote another serious explanation about what I was in fact doing and why, he said "I don't know why you think I'd read that!"  I again, acknowledged that he was still talking to me! 

Just my use of the word "woke" had many directly assuming, or heavily implying that I was a racist, white supremacist, White Nationalist, projecting my politics, unhappy, spoiled, only liked movies with white people, expected everything to be to my liking, and FINALLY the one that takes the cake....... "the stupidest woman I've ever heard.......I must let my husband walk all over me like the good little handmaiden that I am"!....................................................... Yes, the handmaiden guy completely missed my humor and the point! This was after I came clean about all of it. I explained what I was doing. I'm guessing he didn't read........?

I wonder if they knew that I was laughing at the assumptions and insults behind the scenes?  To those who said, or implied, I was a white supremacist, or nationalist I asked "how do you know I'm white?  I don't remember discussing my ancestry."  I also said I'm not as white as I look!  I explained that race swapping in a lot of movies didn't bother me.  I pointed out that I never once mentioned representation, race, political views, and I was never really mean to anyone that would suggest I was truly an unhappy person.  It's just funny that it was all of them who were bringing that into the conversation.  

I was talking about words, and their meanings, and how the words could be used differently.  It was also funny that they were using words that had multiple meanings which they could use how they wanted, but I was the one not allowed to do this in the conversation.  I also pointed out a few times that my issue with a lot of movies was the story telling not the representations, or even the modification to the original stories.  I even posted my blog about the Snow White movie that focuses heavily on the storytelling aspects.  I then said that it was written back in a different reality, and it might not apply anymore. Haha!  

I said many times throughout this thread that they were entitled to their opinions, and they were free to think what they wanted.  I never once said anyone's thinking was not correct.  This is why I was playing the crazy personality pointing out that this was what they were doing to me.  I repeatedly referred them to my previous comments when I said "I could be wrong, or that I hoped that I was wrong" about the movie.  I also continued to remind them of what I'd already said, or explained.

I did tell them that some of their assumptions about me were wrong.  Somewhere in the conversation I said ass-u-me-ing makes an A$$ out of you and me!  That's what it spells!  At one point I offered up details about my life and childhood to the man who called me spoiled! This was over a day after this conversation started, and he also had not read any previous comments.  I originally posted my comment on a Tuesday morning, and I came clean about everything in the evening.  I told them that this was for research for something I was writing.  The next morning, some of them didn't believe me, and accused me of "copping out" of the argument because I didn't have anything else to say.  Haha! I bet he regrets that.  

I think I posted about 10 more times explaining the whole thing again, and reporting back to them my findings. I apologized for my momentary rudeness at times, and I sincerely thanked them for participating in my study.  I also let them all know that I did not hate, or dislike any of them.  I didn't blame any of them for being mad. I explained everything about the term woke and its definitions, and how I used it for bait.  I admitted to being contradictory, and clearly stated the reason for going crazy.  I only acted crazy to those who were insulting, assuming, and correcting me. I was meeting ridiculous behavior with ridiculous behavior!  I gave serious, sincere answers to many of them, to foster good discussion.  I referred many to my previous explanations if they asked the same thing. Soon after these lengthy explanations people started deleting their comments, so much so that none of it made sense any more.  Several hours later I deleted the whole thing.

There was another Facebook post that I commented on regarding Disney sequels, and remakes.  I handled this one differently.   The few people responding to me first insulted me by saying my comment was "so dumb", and that if I didn't like something why not keep my thoughts to myself.  I then pointed out to them that they were doing the same thing to me that they lectured me not to do.  I also reminded them that they wasted their time commenting on a really dumb comment, as they stated!  Shortly after I said I was willing to have a discussion, but not willing to engage in negativity, or insulting.  We actually did have a discussion about Disney, their losses, and choices.  When I stated the financial facts of Disney for the last 3 years, which couldn't be disputed, there was silence.  This person was trying to prove me wrong, but when faced with real facts that they could confirm on their own, they didn't want to say anything else...... interesting!

So, in an effort to better understand some of these people, I followed their pages.  That's right I followed Mr. Handmaiden himself for about 24 hours.  Unfortunately, all I saw on his page was very anti-Christian propaganda; I also saw a very liberal stance that was only interested in insulting anyone who stood right of him.  That's all I needed to understand this guy, but I did go to his YouTube channel.  I watched his gamer videos.  I left a compliment about how his videos were good, and that he had a good voice.  I also reminded him who I was........the handmaiden from Facebook.       

Speaking of Facebook..........I recently came across two British men, Josh From England, and Jase the Accent Guy.  These two not only crack me up, but they genuinely share their culture with Americans while experiencing American culture!  They love American culture!  I have been absolutely delighted as I have watched them try many American things for the first time.  I've especially enjoyed the videos where they get to know people, and culture here in the states.  Just for the record, I would never cry "cultural appropriation" because you want to wear a cowboy hat, attend the rodeo, learn to line dance, eat BBQ, or work on a ranch!  So, go follow them on social media!

Watching them experience America has reminded me of very specific cultural thing here in America!  So, what is American?  Well, for starters Baseball, Football, fruit pies, very creative sugary desserts, and drinks......BBQ, fried food, country music, working hard, driving A LOT, and rodeos!  I think there is more to it than these obvious things.  Americans do have a hard working culture!  Work hard and play hard is a famous motto!  I think, in general, family is at the heart of this country, even though it might not seem that way sometimes.  Most Americans appreciate strong family bonds, and relationships.  I think we might be seeing a generation that has largely grown up in this era of the degradation of family, and I think they want to change that.  The mistakes that American society has bred the last 30-40 years might be reversing.  We may have reached a tipping point.  We might indeed be seeing a turn back to God, back to patriotism, back to the Constitution, back to the family, and ultimately back to America's roots. I can only say, I HOPE this is the case!

We used to be a place where everyone valued freedom of speech, and could have conversations about our differing opinions; even, and especially about movies, and comics!  There used to be a time when we enjoyed a good, and fair debate.  We could disagree and still respect one another's humanity.  Regardless of how heated the debate, the semantics of the words we use, or however broad the disagreement we could still acknowledge the value of different points of view.  At the very least, we could treat one another as fellow humans on similar journeys.  I'm going to do it again.......I'm going to quote Charles Dickens............

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."-Charles Dickens-A Christmas Carol

.......WAIT.......WAIT.......WAIT.......Except instead of only at Christmas time, we could do this ALL the time?!? Well, my fellow humans, I'm going to try to be better! How about you? There is power in kindness; there is power in uniting on our common ground wherever that might be!  There is power in compassion, and treating others well!  Good luck to all of my fellow passengers in life! I hope we can make the world a better place by seeing another point of view!